The
emergence of riots is an important issue to note when discussing urban public
issues because of the damage it can do to cities, both physically and
psychologically. The financial burdens resulting in riot-caused destruction of
property can weigh heavily on individuals and the government. Furthermore,
riots are prone to leave the city in an emotional state of disarray. Group
associations shaped by the riot can leave the city divided long after the dust
has settled. In her article here,
Gabrielle Pickard comments on the cultural effects of the August 2011 riots in
England. She notes that public opinion on immigration and minority groups has
actually reduced in approval. Riots can also be detrimental will be new
perceptions of the city based on violence that can deter future residents and
businesses from taking root.
In Steven Wilkinson’s article
“Riots” he discusses how important rumors are for initiating and escalating a
riot. This becomes increasingly important when such a large portion of the
population uses social networking sites that can advance rumors exceptionally
fast and efficiently. Similar to the idea of rumors instigating riots, is the
idea of other groups of people being inspired by a riot and reproducing it – in
essence the “monkey see, monkey do” effect. We have seen in recent years this
effect being particularly prominent in countries in the Middle East. This can
create a domino effect within a nation or spread to other nations. Jennifer
Jackson commented in a post about whether the England riots would ignite tensions in the U.S. She
speculated at the time, because of the high unemployment and debt problems that
the possibility of a public outbreak would be high; fortunately, as we have
seen, this did not occur.
An image from the London riots. From http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2011/08/08/144661-london-riots.jpg.
There are some very interesting points made in the blog. I'm not sure if this is out of context or irrelevant but it reminds me of the newly popular series of The Hunger Games with all the riots. I feel like the hardest part about starting a riot is to believe and trust that there are people behind you to back you up as well. You made a very valid point about all the social networking we have in modern time today, which makes it easier for people to get together and communicate.
ReplyDeleteTiffany Bui
As Tiffany stated, a riot is made strong by people with similar beliefs, and trust is crucial. I’m not so sure if social networks play a similarly substantial role in shaping together riots. What I mean to say is there is definite lack of trust when one is on the web as compared to physically standing by one another. Either way, I agree with you in that riots can be detrimental to future/current residential and business ownership. Perceptions of cities are founded commonly on these events.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!
Matt Davis – Group 8
Riots are not a new phenomenon. The word "riot" creates mental images of violence and chaos. The Occupy Movement initially stated their purpose as nonviolent protest, yet violence erupted. A blog by David Carr of the NY Times, though notes that though the violence may stop the Movement, the message of 99% may still change how our nation moves forward. If you're interested, check out his blog at this link.
ReplyDeletehttp://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/the-occupy-movement-may-be-in-retreat-but-its-ideas-are-advancing
I agree with both Tiffany and Matt. What about discussing if riots are the correct way to go about things today? Any alternatives?
ReplyDeleteI think social networks will be the reason for most riots in the future. People are so responsive to things they see on facebook and twitter. Those who organize these events can be creative online and make a riot seem like the right answer.
ReplyDelete-Mark Harner
When discussing riots, I think it is also useful to discuss why people feel that a riot is the only way to make their voice heard in the community. Riots typically have to do with groups feeling some form of oppression, and having less than desirable say or control in the issues that are affecting them. Like Amohamed said, discussing alternatives, or enabling the community to have more meaningful alternatives to make a statement is worth discussing. I actually see social networking as one of these alternatives that can be used positively. Many politicians set up twitter and facebook events to allow citizens to provide direct feedback about issues in the community.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Broderick
I found this blog post really interesting. We have read that most of the riots in the past had to with something about race and other stuff like that. People dont riot unless they feel like they are not being heard. That has changed a lot now with with addition of all this social media. You can look at the Kony2012 thing as an example, even though there is not a riot, look at what social media has done with that. It was trending on twitter, had several facebook posts, and mainly informed people on youtube. Social media has for sure changed the game because now it is as if you are being heard by millions of people who may support the same cause as you do.
ReplyDeleteKevin Znilek
Group 9
We're seeing riots with the Arab Spring movement. Social networking did help shape the protests in Egypt and it was one of the many ways that people could stay informed on what was happening in other countries.
ReplyDeleteTime Magazine actually named "The Protester" and their Person of the Year for 2011, with the Tea Party (to my knowledge, they never got violent), the Occupy Wall Street movement (a few of these have gotten violent), and the Arab Spring. All of these movements have started out as peaceful, or with the intention of being peaceful, but some of these have been provoked by police or bystanders or the governments. Libya and Syria have even escalated into full-scale civil wars.
-Laura Oganowski
I think that its important to show that as time goes with the imporvment in the social media sector that things will spread faster and faster. This will help spread rumors and play more into the notion of action before thinking. This is because if an act is seen one way normally in the negative and will always be protested against. This is also key for it spreads quickly and can go to different countries which can build strength for the cause that they are going for.
ReplyDeleteComment is for Group 14